PAVLOVA WITH HAZELNUT BASe

"Our Pavlova Cake is a poetry made from sweet strawberries, soft Greek yogurt cream with bourbon vanilla and honey and hazelnut cream. And for more crunchiness, it has a roasted hazelnut base. It’s simply gorgeous!! From listed ingredients, you can make one larger Pavlova or 6 smaller ones."

Place the chopped hazelnuts inside the circles. Save some hazelnuts for the garnish.

In a small cup, mix together Whiskey, starch, caster sugar and lemon juice.

Add a pinch of salt to egg whites and start to whisk, gradually adding sugar, until they start to form nice firm peaks.

Add the Whiskey-lemon juice blend and mix until the meringue is white, glossy and smooth.

Put the meringue into a piping bag and pipe the circles onto the hazelnut base.

Bake the meringues on the lowest rack at 150°C for 40-50 minutes, depending on the thickness of the meringues. If the meringues start to brown to quickly, lower the oven temperature to 140°C.

After baking time, lower the oven temperature to 100°C, slightly open the oven door and let the meringues to dry for 1-3 hours.

Leave the meringues to cool.

Add yogurt to double cream, add sugar if necessary and whip into a cream.

Spoon the cream on top of the meringues. On ½ of the cream sprinkle some cocoa powder and chopped roasted hazelnuts and pipe a few hazelnut cream swirls. Garnish the other half with fresh strawberries.

So, what actually is Pavlova?It’s a meringue-based dessert, with a crisp crust and soft inside. It is named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. The dessert is believed to have been created in honour of the dancer on her tours to Australia and New Zealand. The Pavlova Cake is a part of Australian national cuisine and it’s usually topped with whipped cream and fresh fruits, like strawberries, kiwi and passionfruit.